Push for ‘pick date’ on foods

WOOLWORTHS chief Brad Banducci says supermarkets need to move from “pack date” to “pick date” as health-conscious shoppers demand greater transparency around their food.

The nation’s biggest supermarket chain is also working to make it easier for vegans and gluten-free customers to find what they are looking for, Mr Banducci told the Global Food Forum in Melbourne.

“It’s very hard if you are a vegan or a coeliac to actually navigate our stores and effectively choose the products that are right for you,” Mr Banducci said.

“I think that goes for all the way up the supply chain. We need transparency. People want to know where it has come from, how it is grown and also is it gluten free, is it lactose free, is it free from sugar or whatever the case will be.”

Mr Banducci said supermarkets needed to do a better job on tracking fresh items from the paddock to the shelf to make sure shoppers always had the best quality produce.

“One of the things that I have always been keen on is to know the pick date so we can have the best sell buy date,” he said.

“We know the pack date but not the pick date. We need as an industry to move to pick dates. We have this great fresh food in Australia but we haven’t put enough effort into this topic and we lag the US and many countries in Europe on this.”